This article first appeared in
Endangered Species Update May/June 2003 Vol 20(3), 97-106, and is
reproduced here by kind permission of the editor, Saul Alarcon-Adams

Abstract
Despite the existence of commodity shortages in the aroma industry,
production and marketing strategies that are sustainable in the long-term
are driven more by consumers and organizations concerned about
conservation than by raw material producers and resellers. The poverty in
which many indigenous peoples are submerged increases the unsustainable
use of natural materials. This phenomenon is exacerbated by the
unwillingness of large companies to pay fair and equitable prices to these
peoples when searching and later making profit of active ingredients found
in places such as the rainforest. The author argues for a more ethical
and responsible use of raw materials in the aroma industry. He also
describes the origin, use and status of important animal and plant
aromatic items.

The essential oil and aromatic raw
materials industry is failing to self-police itself with respect to
conserving threatened plant and animal species. Commodity shortages and
higher unit prices for certain items signal ever-increasing supply
problems. Green policies and any semblance of ecological awareness with
respect to these commodities often seem to originate more from the
attitudes of consumers than via the raw materials producer and re-seller,
in spite of the existent national and international laws restricting or
forbidding trade in certain threatened species. It seems that some
traders will only stop marketing these valuable commodities when
prosecuted, legally prevented, shamed or pressurized into adopting more
ecologically sound practices.

The World Conservation Union has now
classified 11,167 creatures and 5714 plants as facing extinction (IUCN
2002). It is calculated that loss of species is currently running up to
1000 times its natural rate, thus it seems surely time to examine measures
to help conservation strategies for the planet (New Scientist 2002). With
this in mind, the October 2002 meeting of the United Nations Convention on
Trade in Endangered Species voted in favor of protection of a further
number of species, thus there is hope of tough international legislation
to preserve biodiversity (New Scientist 2002).

There is a "non-human"-centred argument
in environmental ethics, which states that an individual species has an
absolute right to exist. Introducing human's interests into the picture
complicates the issue, especially where products from threatened species
have associated uses as commodities, at which point ideological principles
are sometimes overturned. For example, the 1973 Endangered Species Act in
the United States, which is based on the assumption that each life form
may prove valuable in non-predictable ways, and that each species is
entitled to exist for its own sake, was initially welcomed by a majority
of the public, but was later challenged by many people, when the habitat
of a single unique species was seen to "get in the way" of major
industrial development, affecting jobs and livelihoods, and maybe even
affecting the way people might vote (Chadwick 1995). As another example,
Pakenham (2002) devoted a complete chapter to the case of the eucalyptus
forests in Australia. These forests contained enormous Eucalyptus regnans
trees 350-400 feet high, a wonder in themselves! However, the cutting
down of state-owned eucalyptus forests in the Yarra range north of
Melbourne has monetarily benefited Australian taxpayers. It is hard to
see that conservation can be perceived as effective and ongoing, when
local governments adopt such policies of such seemingly negative
ecological value.

Biodiversity Conservation, indigenous
peoples and the aroma industry

Slash and burn was practiced for
hundreds of years in the tropics in a process of cultivation and fallow
rotation (and sometimes management succession) without a great impact in
the rainforest (Brookfield and Padoch 1994; Tomich et al. 1998). However,
population growth and pressure from big corporations have decreased the
amount of land available, and the fallow period has shortened with the
subsequent degradation of the land (Tomich et al. 1998). The
intensification of slash and burn practices lead to desertification, and
agriculture and housing needs intrude more and more on former forest
areas. Slash and burn policies of migrating agricultural practices may
affect the pH of the soil, change the viable seed count and soil
microflora, damage the root matt structure, and may lead to the
degradation of forest areas. Indeed the poverty of the indigenous peoples
can make huge demands on the forest reserves, and this effect may be
comparable or larger than the effects of logging or other destructive
forces.

Another cause of the extinction of
species is the gathering of threatened organisms. One of the arguments
for non-interventionist policies relates to a fundamental right of peoples
to use plants and herbs for religious, medicinal or ritual use. In fact,
endemic peoples can easily view the imposition of ecologically reasoned
restrictions on these practices as a form of Western scientific
imperialism. I am sympathetic to this viewpoint, and would always seek to
prevent the more serious threat of commercial exploitation rather than
interfere with a more "legitimate" ethnic use, provided that this use does
not continue to seriously endanger the species in question, for instance,
by the use of sustainable practices to ensure the long-term preservation
of natural resources. Sustainable forest development is defined by the
International Tropical Timber Organization as "the process of managing
permanent forest land to achieve one or more specific objects of
management with regard to the production of a continuous flow of desired
forest products and services without undue reduction in its inherent
values and future productivity, and without undue desirable effects on the
physical and social environment” (Mankin 1998).

But despite the fact that the need for
as sustainable management is recognized, indigenous peoples generally gain
absolutely nothing from large companies searching for new pharmaceuticals,
active ingredients for cosmetics or drugs (e.g., curare and quinine), and
agrochemicals in environments such as the rainforest (Prance 1998). No
establishment mechanisms exist to reward local communities for the
conservation of diversity, and the growth of forest conservation schemes
has historically shown scant regard for the ways of indigenous peoples.

It is not all doom and gloom however.
Panaia et al. (2000) report that one single plant of the critically
endangered Symonanthus bancroftii plant was discovered in Ardath in
Western Australia, and a recovery program using in vitro micropropagation
techniques was started via the resources of Department of Conservation and
Land Management (CALM) and the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority of
Western Australia. The plant has now a less precarious outlook,
illustrating the role of tissue culture, one of the ex-situ measures
proving useful in conserving rare and threatened species.

The trend towards exotic botanical
extracts as actives in cosmetic products is also a major development and
has spawned some interesting associations, such as those between the
French Conservatory of Specialized Botanical Collections and producing
companies in Madagascar and Brazil. Charges of bioethnic plundering in
exotic materials for cosmetics generally are offset by the fact that
indigenous peoples may gain monetarily from these exploits. But
ethno-botany is now such a buzz-word across the cosmetic world, thus it is
hard to find out if there is any effective monitoring for the majority of
these raw materials, and from personal experience, complete ignorance of
the conservation status of these commodities items would seem to be the
norm amongst the majority of technical staff of many leading cosmetic
companies. Further, it is possible that extensive usage of these exotic
ingredients may further damage the fragile ecosystems from whence they
came.

What action can we in the aroma world
take to contribute to conserving biological diversity? One possible way is
not to formulate with, or trade in commodities which origin is a
threatened species, until we are far surer that truly sustainable
production methods are in place. Dialogue to discuss how this might be
done, the drawbacks of imposed monoculture on cleared forest land, and
policies which contribute to species succession is welcomed. Some of
these exploited aromatic items are listed below, although the list is far
from being comprehensive.

Animal Products

1. Civet. Civet products were used in
less enlightened times in perfumery for their animalic notes, finding use
in orientals, heavy florals and chypres. Civet paste is obtained from
squeezing or scraping the anal glands of the African civet cat Civetticus
civetta (sometimes classified as Viverra civetta), the Indian civet
Viverra zibetha (from India, Indonesia and Malaysia), the Lesser Indian
civet (also known as the Chinese civet) Viverricula indica (East and South
China) and other civet species. Viverra civettina (India), Viverra
zibetha (India) and Viverricula indica (India) are listed under Appendix
III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES) (CITES 2003).

De-Sheng (1986) wrote a review article
of the civet cat and presented detailed GC-Mass Spectrometery data on the
composition of steam micro-distillation-extraction volatiles from civet
secretions obtained from the Chinese Civet Viverricula indica. Yingkang
(1991) described civet paste collection from Hangzou Zoological Garden in
China and estimated an annual production of 12 kg of civet paste per year
from a one-hectare civet farm operated by the zoo. Farms also operate in
Ethiopia, Kenya, Congo, Guinea, Senegal and India. Petitdidier (1986)
glowingly reported on a visit to Addis Abbaba Research Institute, which
controlled the civet quality output from 105 Ethiopian farms. A similar
kind of article would be hard to find these days, reflecting how attitudes
have changed.

2. Musk. Musk grains/pods are obtained
from the preputial glands of the musk deer (Moschus spp.). Geist (1999)
argues that these timid creatures are really tragulids, the similarity to
deer only occurring by convergent evolution. A principle difference is
that tragulids have fewer exocrine glands than "real" deer. Example of
musk deer species include Moschus berezovskii found in Southern China and
Northern Vietnam, Moschus chrysoagaster found in India, and Moschus
moschiferus found in China, Mongolia, Himalayas and Korea. Moschus spp.
populations of Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan are
listed under Appendix I of CITES, while other populations are included in
Appendix II (CITES 2003).

Animal musks have had a long history of
use in perfumery. Zhong and Hui (1996) reported that China formerly had
90% of the world "musk deer resources," but that deer populations had
reduced from 2.5 million on the 1960's to 100,000 in 1996. Green (1986,
1989) and Wemmer (1998) noted that the economic viability of musk
harvesting from either free-range or captive musk deer has not been
evaluated. Only small amounts of musk are nowadays used in perfumery -
the largest consumers of musk products are China (where various musk
qualities are used in traditional medicine) and Japan. Morita (1992)
reported that musk is no longer an ingredient of modern Japanese incense.

3. Ambergris. Ambergris is a
pathological exudate from the sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus and only
occurs in approximately 1% of the population. The disease is caused by
exposure to sunlight and seawater producing this formerly used perfumery
material. Physeter spp., amongst other whales, are listed under Appendix I
of CITES (CITES 2003). Rice DW (2002) of the National Maritime Mammal
Laboratory, Seattle, pointed out, that contrary to the widely held belief
that ambergris masses may be found floating in the sea or washed up on
shores, harvesting therefore posing no threat to whale viability,
ambergris is hardly ever found on beaches but is mainly recovered from
whale carcasses

4. Castoreum. Castoreum qualities are
ethylic extracts of the accumulated dried material collected via secretory
glands in the abdominal pouch of the Siberian beaver Castor fiber and the
Canadian beaver C. canadensis living in Alaska, Canada and Siberia.
Russian and Canadian commercial products were available in former times
(e.g., from the Hudson Bay Company), and at the present time castoreum
products are still available from Internet traders and certain perfumery
companies (e.g., some in France). Castoreum was once used in perfumery to
give leathery animal notes to chypres and to other perfumes. In spite of
progress in understanding the chemical composition of castoreum, no
synthetic replacement or reconstitution comes close to reproducing the
in-perfume effects produced by the authentic material.

5. Muskrat. Although the species is
not threatened, products such as musk zibata were formerly produced from
the muskrat Ondatra zibethicus, which lives on the Louisiana marshlands.
Hall (1981) reported that in North America muskrat pelts are the most
valuable fur pelts in the trapping trade. The perfumery use of muskrat
products would nowadays also be regarded as non-ethical.

There are other "animal" products that
are not similarly universally regarded as unethical commodities (e.g.,
beeswax absolute obtained via alcoholic extract of beeswax). The official
line is that respectable international perfumery companies do not trade in
animal raw materials, as the trade is regarded as unethical, if not
actually illegal under CITES agreements. It does not take the trainee in
perfumery too long to realize that certain identifiable perfumery
companies do not adhere to these criteria, although they risk the
attentions of environmentalists and animal welfare groups who might
vigorously pursue these miscreants.

An interesting development is the
reported banning of the import by the Chinese government on March 2002 of
products from Europe (that includes members and non-members of the
European Union), Japan and Oman, containing or suspected of containing
animal derivatives (Parfums Cosmétiques Actualités 2002). It will be
interesting to see if the ban just applies to some cosmetic materials -
including fragrance ingredients - or also applies to musk and other
ingredients imported for use in traditional Chinese medicines.

Plant Products

1. Orchid oils. The three commercially
cultivated species of the vanilla plant, Vanilla planifolia (Bourbon or
Indonesian vanilla), V. tahitensis (Tahitian vanilla), and V. pompona
(Guadeloupe vanilla; vanillons; W. Indian vanilla) are not included in
this category. Orchids are already sufficiently rare in many European
countries to have protected status, and the family Orchidaceae is listed
under Appendix II of CITES and Annex B of Regulation (EC) 338/97 (CITES
2003). Some examples of threatened species still use are the ladies
slipper Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens, which is used in herbal
medicine and is listed in the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia 1983, and
Ophyris insectifera used in "salep", an ingredient in Turkish delight and
ice cream. McGriffin (2000) proposed self-regulatory initiatives to
refrain from trading in wild-harvested ladies slipper. He suggested that
these initiatives should be put into practice by the herbal industry, all
American Herbal Products Association members, and all other individuals
and businesses in the horticultural and herb trade.

Many natural perfumes produced by many
orchid species are currently being researched by leading perfumery
companies (Kaiser 1993). Pain (2001) described the plant hunting for new
perfumes including orchid perfumes in rain forest areas (e.g., Madagascar)
by experts from one of the world’s largest fragrance companies. Current
interest by the media is further reflected in S. O'Connell's article
(2001) reporting on the work of Josef Limacher, a perfume hunter working
on orchid scents in locations in Brazil. Kaiser (1993) presented an
impressive academic account of the chemistry of natural orchid scents from
many parts of the world in his fabulously illustrated book. Although the
threat of mass exploitation of orchid species is unlikely, close
monitoring to protect individual habitats of these beautiful and
irreplaceable plants is desirable.

2. Mountain tobacco. Extracts,
concretes, essential oils, the dried roots, dried whole plant and dried
flowers of Arnica montana are commercially offered, in spite of declining
plant populations. Due to over-exploitation, A. montana is listed under
Annex D of the CoE Regulations (EC) No. 338/97 and under Annex V of the EU
Habitats, Fauna and Flora Directive (EUROPA 2003). A rare drug, the
tincture of arnica flower oil from the capitulum's of A.montana, has
previously achieved pharmaceutical status in the British Pharmaceutical
Codex of 1949. The herb and its products has similarly been official in
many National Pharmacopoeias (e.g., Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland
and it is mentioned in the British Herbal Pharmacopoeia of 1983). The
market for the dried flowers is believed to be 50 tons per annum and this
product is almost totally derived from wild harvesting from Spain and
Romania. An excellent review of the status of A. montana, including the
position with respect both to legal and illegal harvesting in Spain, is
described by Lange (1998).

3. Costus. Products such as extracts,
concretes, and essential oils are obtained from Saussurea lappa (also
known as Saussurea costus). This species is sometimes mistaken with the
herbal plant Costus speciosus. Saussurea lappa plants, known as kuth in
Hindi and in the herb trade, are grown in Kashmir, Sikkim and other areas
of the Himalayas, and in Southwestern China. The plant has become
endangered and export is banned, the species being included in Appendix I
of CITES (CITES 2003). S. lappa's qualities are better known in perfumery
as costus absolute, costus oil etc. The plant grows wild, mainly in Jammu
and Kashmir (specifically in the Kishenganga and Chenab valleys), but is
also cultivated in Kashmir and Lahul. Roots of the plant are used in
Ayurvedic, Unani, Siddha and Tibetan medicinal systems. The oil was
formerly used in high-class perfumery in small quantities to impart
animalic and sebaceous notes, and some would say coupled with orris-like
effects. Up to 12 tons of raw material per year are exported from
northwest districts of India, in spite of their threatened status, and not
being permitted in perfumes because of problems of dermal sensitization
associated with sesquiterpene lactones and other sensitizers in costus
products. Incorporation into perfumes is against the International
Fragrance Research Association Standards, unless specific commercial
grades offered can be shown to be non-sensitizing.

Additional List of Rare and Threatened
Species

The following are aroma materials from
species that I believe to be rare, very rare or threatened in their
natural habitats. Some aromatic raw material users may be anxious that
the conservation ideal should ensure that not only the morphologically
distinct forms are preserved, but also the conservation of chemotypes is
given equal weighting.

1. Rosewood oil. Oil from the wood of
Aniba rosaedora, A. amazonica, A. parviflora and other Aniba species and
varieties, is distilled to produce "bois de rose" or Rosewood oil. The
present production is mainly from Brazil (the pure oil is only shipped out
from Manaus), although formerly was produced also in French Guiana,
Surinam and Peru. Time is running out for this important raw material.
Replanting deals (i.e. guaranteeing tree replantation with trade
purchases) are commendable in some respects, but will make little impact
in the short term due to the long maturation period of the trees. Loss of
germ plasm diversity and narrowing of the genetic base is believed to have
already occurred through tree over-exploitation to satisfy the demand for
essential oil, although efforts to create a germ plasm collection are now
afoot. Some encouraging trials for young trees indicate better growth
characteristics in cleared areas compared to the relative failure of
poly-tunnel trials. The Faculdade de Ciensias Agrarias do Para at Belem,
Brazil recently identified specific evaluation needs for formal
cultivation, including the selection of superior germ plasm, economic
studies for production of wood and leaf oils, and optimization management
regimes for short-rotation harvesting of trunk wood and leaves. Major
purchasers of Rosewood oil to date are believed to have been local
outposts of fragrance sector multinationals, who have taken up to 100 tons
per annum of oil since the eighties (the present output is believed to be
closer to 30 tons). This is in contrast to the Brazilian situation of the
nineteen sixties, where fifty or so Brazilian distilleries provided 500
tons per year of oil (Ohashi 1997). A review article by S.
Sheppard-Hanger and the author, on possible substitutes for Rosewood oil
in Aromatherapy, has just been published (Burfield & Sheppard-Hanger
2003).

Peruvian Rosewood oil from "sustainably
grown" Ocotea caudata is also being sold into the essential oils market.
The history of exploitation of Ocotea species has not been good up to
now. The over-exploitation of Brazilian Sassafras O. pretosia and the
valuable South African timber tree O. bullata has been such that the
latter is a protected species. So much felling of O. pretosia in Santa
Caterina forests of Brazil has occurred in the last few decades in order
to produce Brazilian Sassafras oil that now the transport distances to the
distillery are relatively great, and the oil is starting to be uneconomic
to produce. Since O. cymbarum is often confused with O. pretosia has also
suffered reduction in numbers from indiscriminate felling. Many Ocotea
species are slow-growing species and may take up to forty years to
mature. If exploitation becomes scaled up the future of O. caudata may be
uncertain, although some oil customers dislike the inferior odour profile
(pine-oil disinfectant like) of some batches of the oil, which makes the
increase of O. caudata exploitation very unlikely.

2. Amyris oil. Although there is no
study that I am aware of to corroborate this prediction, I believe that
Amyris balsamifera is at risk of becoming extinct in its natural habitat,
the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, in less than ten years due to
over-exploitation. The oil is not greatly valued in perfumery but rather
has found employment as an extender of other oils, or in cheap soap
perfumes.

3. Sandalwood oil. Possibly originally
introduced from the Timor islands, the parasitic sandalwood trees
(Santalum species) such as S. freycinetianum (Lanal sandalwood) and S.
album (East Indian Sandalwood) became endemic to Southwest India, often
hiding deep in the Southern forests. According to Sahni (2000) some
species of Santalum were perhaps spread there via birds following their
establishment by man on the outskirts of forests or nearby villages.
Sahni (2000) also estimated that sandalwoods have been indigenous to parts
of India for 23 centuries. There is some evidence that essential oil
formation in the heartwood is optimal where trees are grown at between 600
to 900 m. Due to over-exploitation, East Indian and Indonesian oils from
S. album are not freely available, although some limited production of
East Indian sandalwood is taking place. The market price of East Indian
sandalwood at the time of writing is £425 per kilo! The production has
partly been in the control of the Madras and Mysore state governments, who
have attempted to prevent the unauthorized smuggling of oil. However,
illegal sandalwood oil has been commonly offered in the oil dealing trade,
and in recent years, the industry has largely turned its back and
pretended not to notice the practice, and now we may be paying the price.
My best guess is that there are possibly less than 130,000 hectares of S.
album trees in the whole of India. In Karataka and Tamil Nadu forests
trees grow at elevations of up to 1400 m and there is some evidence that
oil formation in the heartwood is optimal where trees are grown at between
600 to 900 m. It is probable that 75% of India's sandalwood output comes
from the forests of Karnataka, where extensive replanting trials have been
carried out, although the market sourcing for this commodity may now focus
increasingly on Papua New Guinea. Many replantings in other districts of
India have produced viable plants, but with no oil content. Rai (1999)
described the plantation techniques used for raising sandalwood from
seeds, and container raised seedlings. Many attempts have resulted in
failure from insufficient knowledge of the host-parasite relationship, or
from mismanagement (e.g., deaths by dehydration, animal scavenging, or
human-caused destruction).

Trees are quite susceptible to disease,
especially to the mycoplasmal spike disease, which affects the principal
forests (see Nayar (1988) for a detailed review of spike disease).
Mineral and hydrational requirements are provided by the hot, thus spike
disease is thought to be aided by the selection of inappropriate hosts for
the sandalwood tree. The tree will normally die within 3 years of
infection.

There is no national or international
genetic germ plasm resource or collection of sandalwoods in existence
anywhere. Further, full maturity for trees may take 60-80 years. All of
these factors coupled with over-exploitation are putting pressure on other
Santalum species from which replacement sandalwood oils are being
produced. For instance, S. austrocaledonicum (sandalwood oil vanuata) and
S. yasi (Fiji, Tonga) have been so exploited, that numbers of these
species are down to a few trees. S. fernandezianum was exploited since
1624 for its valuable sweet-scented wood, and according to Lucas and Synge
(1978) the last specimen of this species was last seen alive by Skottsberg
in 1908. The status of tree numbers of S. insulare (French Polynesia), S.
macgregorii (Papua New Guinea), and S. ellipticum (Hawaii) also needs
monitoring.

Although East Indian sandalwood from S.
album reached protected species status in 1995, most of the aroma industry
trade press has virtually ignored the topic. Soap, Perfumery and
Cosmetics (2002) highlighted the research on the Australian sandalwood S.
spicatum extract by the Institute of the Pharmaceutical Chemistry in
Vienna, in conjunction with an Australian Sandalwood producer (Mt.
Romance). The article is largely devoted to extol the virtues of S.
spicatum "oil”, apparently via felled trees from a 1.6 km2 area.
Unfortunately the article fails to distinguish the differences in
compositional and odor properties between East Indian sandalwood oil and
the Australian Sandalwood extract. Webb (2000) described the solvent
extract procedure details, which is followed by co-distillation as
utilized by Mt. Romance in the preparation of Australian Sandalwood
extract.

4. Jatamansi oil. Jatamansi oil is
extracted from Nardostachys jatamansi, which is found in the Eastern
Himalayas, Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim. The once abundant herbal plants
described by early botanists (: Gammie A. 1894) have been virtually
stripped from the hillsides by herb gatherers in many places now, so the
plant is becoming extremely scarce and the perennial only occurs in a few
Himalayan valleys, typically at heights of between 3600-4800 m, or even at
the higher elevations. Amatya and Sthapit (1994) expressed concern about
over-exploitation of the species, calling for increased levels of
cultivation. The authors also remarked that although export of the herb
itself was not allowed, there is no restriction on exporting oleoresin and
essential oil, and the export volumes of these products are often
inaccurately reported, to avoid payment of government tax. The trading of
N. jatamansi only reflects the high levels of commercial exploitation that
still occurs with other Himalayan herbs like Aconitum ferox, Picrorhiza
kurrooa and Swertia chirata. Apart from S. chirata, these species are
disappearing fast. The rhizome from N. jatamansi is used in Ayurvedic
medicine for the treatment of hysteria and other nervous illnesses. The
larger plant N. grandiflora which occurs in the same regions that N.
jatamansi does, achieved CITES Appendix II listing in July 2000, together
with Picrorhiza kurrooa. P. kurrooa is a tonic herb and possibly the
most well-recognized Himalayan medicinal herb. It is interesting to note
that N. grandiflora is said to be often co-gathered with Valeriana
wallichi according to Traffic International (1999) and that published
chemical compositions of essential oils from these species are similar.

5. Chaulmoogra oils. Chaulmoogra oils
are extracted from Hydnocarpus species from some regions in India
(especially the Western Ghats and Karnataka). Interestingly, chaulmoogra
oils are fixed oils, often being solid in temperate European climates, but
with a history of being traded by the essential oil industry. Their
traditional indigenous medicinal use against leprosy has been largely
superseded by modern pharmaceutical drugs. Biswas (1956) noted that
species of chaulmoogra were ruthlessly and crudely collected and sold
outside Nepal, in addition to other species such as chirata (Swertia
chirata), and kuth (Saussurea lappa). Since then exploitation has further
the abundance of the species. Shankar and Majundar (1997) quoted the
Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions Research
Department, which published a first Red Data List of threatened South
Indian medicinal plants, in which the status of H. macrocarpa was listed
as vulnerable. CIMAP (1997) reported that H. pentadra is facing genetic
errosion and that in general Hydnocarpus species are in decline due to
habitat destruction.

6. Gentian. Many of the 300 or so
Gentiana species remain very rare or threatened (IUCN 2002). Gentiana
extracts have traditionally been used in medicines and flavorings, but
species such as G. tibetica was formerly used in Tibetan medicinal systems
may be so rare that substitutions may have to be made. Kletter and
Kriechbaum (2001) note that G. tibetica is often confused with G.
crassicaulis and G. robusta, and it may be that plant gatherers are simply
looking in the wrong area for the species. The species may occur in Nepal
but is confined to southeast Xizang, Bhutan, Sikkim at heights between
2100 to 4200 m. Kletter and Kriechbaum (2001) further recommended that
gathering of all three species should never exceed 50% of the total local
population of plants, and should only occur during two years in a row
followed by one year without harvest.

G. lutea is listed in the Red Book Data
listings for Bosnia, Romania, Portugal, Bulgaria, Albania, Germany, Czech
Republic, Ukraine and Poland. It is commonly used as a source material in
the preparation of gentian absolute for the perfumery trade, and as a
bittering agent in alcoholic beverages, but the more economically
important use for the dried roots and rhizome of the plant is to produce
bitters to stimulate the digestive system. Lange (1998) estimated the
demand for dried roots as being 1500 tons per annum, mainly derived from
gathering from the wild in France, Spain, Turkey, Bavaria, Albania and
Romania. He also noted that wild harvesting of G. lutea in Spain proceeds
in contravention of existing legislation.

7. Kenyan cedarwood oil. Known as the
East Africa pencil cedar tree, Juniperus procea reaches up to 30 m and is
found in parts of Ethiopia and central Kenya at 1000 to 3000 m. An oil
traded as Kenyan cedarwood oil was formerly produced from distillation of
the chipped wood, and was commercially available as a common perfumery raw
material up to the mid-eighties. By 1986, J. procera was included in the
FAO listing of endangered tree and shrub species and provenances (FAO
1986). Ciesla (2002) discussed reasons for the decline of the species,
which include the effect of possible pathogens, drying out of forests and
human factors such as heavy overgrazing. The decline lead to the oil
production cessation in Africa, and the oil has disappeared from the raw
material inventories of perfumery companies. The tree has been introduced
into parts of India (the Nilgiris), and waste wood from trees cut down for
furniture making may be distilled on a very limited scale to produce oil
for local use.

8. Agarwood. Agarwood (also known as
aloeswood) is extracted from Aquilaria & Gonystylus spp., and A.
malaccensis and other Aquilaria species grow in Malaysia and Indonesia and
are becoming rare because of the great demand for infected sections of
fragrant wood (agaru), which fetch a great price. A. crassna is listed as
endangered by the Vietnamese government and A. malaccensis is protected
under CITES. Agarwood trees are felled indiscriminately by roving teams
of agaru hunters who search Southeast Asian territories for this very
valuable material, in places in which the species are not known to occur.
Exploitation from incense makers and other commercial users threaten the
continued future sustainability of A. agallocha trees (which some workers
regard as synonymous with A. malaccensis) from Cambodia, Vietnam and
Thailand (Barden et. al. 2003; and CITES Newsletter 2000). A. malaccensis
is mentioned amongst 65 listed Indian medicinal and aromatic plants facing
genetic erosion by CIMAP (1997), a list that also includes Gentiana kurroo,
Sausaurea costus, Hedychium spicatum, Nardostaschys grandiflora,
Gaultheria procumbens and Jurinea dolomiaea. Agarwood formation is
maximal in trees older than 25 years old, peaking in trees older than 50
years, thus even though the Department of Forests in Arunachal Pradesh has
developed large Aquilaria plantations, these measures may not affect the
cutting and illegal exporting of this product. Attempts and trials for
artificial resin inducement and biotechnological processes for agaru
production are planned to be covered at a First International Agarwood
Conference which will take place in Vietnam on November 2003. The
objective of this conference is to lay the groundwork for collaborative
efforts towards preventing Aquilaria trees becoming extinct in the wild.

Momberg et al. (2000) provide an
insight into the social and ethical issues surrounding the bioprospecting
“rush” for agaru in the Kayan Mentarang National Park in East Kalimantan,
Indonesia. The authors report for example that the ‘nineties boom in agaru
collecting featured non-indigenous teams flying agaru out by aircraft.
Eventually government restrictions stopped this activity, but only at the
point when the agaru forest reserves were exhausted; inexperienced outside
collectors felling every Aquilaria tree (instead of just infected trees)
have added to a worsening situation.

9. Greater wormwood oil. This product
is derived from Artemisia gracilis, a now rare European alpine plant
growing at elevations of 2400-3500 m. The oil was formerly used as a
flavoring ingredient in alcoholic beverages and to produce the alpine
liqueur Genipy.

10. Anise scented myrtle oil. This oil
is traditionally associated with Australia (North East part of New South
Wales, specifically the Bellinger and Nambucca valleys). Anise scented
myrtle oil is obtained from Backhousia anisata, a rare tree rare that
grows up to 25 m, although plants are always smaller in cultivation.
Briggs and Leigh (1995) list B. anisata as a rare or threatened plant,
with a geographic range in Australia of less than 100 km. More than 1000
trees of the species exist in natural reserves and Briggs and Leigh (1995)
consider the species' status as adequate inside the reserves. Annual
production of leaf or branch or bark oil production is not known, although
is believed to be minute. Some anecdotal reports state that leaf oils
produced from the cultivated plants are inferior in odor profile to wild
harvested leaves. The spicy leaves have been used in the Australian bush
tucker industry.

11. Hinoki wood oil. Since 1982 the
Japanese government has protected Chamaecyparis obtusa where the oil is
extracted from, and has only allowed the use of trees that have died
naturally, or which have been recycled from the re-building of temples.
Therefore the oil is produced from the steam distillation of the chipped
wood and sawing wastes of the Hinoki tree legally obtained, and buyers
should seek documented proof of legality if buying from a Japanese
source. There may now also be some limited Chinese production of this oil
also.

12. Havozo tree oil. The practice of
bark distillation, which produces an oil that smells strongly of aniseed
and contains 80-97% methyl chavicol as well as limonene, anethole, and
linalol, is threatening the survival of Ravensara anisata, the Madagascan
tree from which the oil is extracted. There are some signs that this
practice is being discouraged and better forestry management is being put
into practice (Medicinal Plant Conservation 1997).

13. Siam Wood oil. Fokiena hodginsi,
first reported in 1908 and now becoming very rare, is used to produce this
oil. The oil is rarely encountered commercially.

14. Mulanje cedarwood. Whyte (1892)
reported that forest fires were threatening the mulanje cedarwood
Widdringtonia whyte. However, this African species survived in a ten-mile
area until it was replanted from Mulanje Mountains Forest Reserve in the
1960’s to former Nyasaland, Tanganyika and Kenya. Now over-used as
timber, sawdust is collected from timber-yards and distilled to obtain oil
for local use.

15. Origanum oils. Several individual
species of Origanum such as O. barygyli from Syria and O. dictamus and O.
vetter from Greece are rare or threatened. Several institutions have
collected the genetic resources of the genus, which reside in a number of
gene banks, and private collections across the world.

16. Himalayan cedarwood oil. Cedrus
deodara grows on the Himalayan slopes of northern India, Afghanistan and
Pakistan, at elevations between 1650 and 2400 m, and has extensively been
used in India for building, furniture and railway sleepers. Felled trees
are floated down the rivers in the Himalayas to the plains. Oil
production is down from former levels of 20 tons, to approx 1 ton per
year. The species is listed as threatened (Farjon et al. 1993), and
according to Sahni (2000) the tree is the remaining habitat for the
threatened and spectacular Western Tragopan (Tragopan melanocephalus) in
parts of Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Pakistan. The oil is widely used
in aromatherapy, but little used in Western perfumery where Virginian
cedarwood oil Virginia from Juniperus virginiana L. is often preferred.

17. Cedrus atlantica commodities. The
tree is found at an elevation of 1400-2500 m growing on several types of
soil in 133,653 hectares of cedar forest in the Moroccan Middle Atlas, Rif
Central and Grand Atlas Oriental and Middle Atlas Oriental mountains (Mardaga
1999). While cedarwood Atlas trees are well conserved in specific
protected areas, the ecosystem is very fragile, and often the margins are
subject to degradation by erosion, demineralization, dehydration, and
desertification, occasionally resulting in areas of complete desolation,
in spite of heroic attempts by the Moroccan authorities to maintain them.
Lawrence (1985) reported that the production of cedarwood Atlas oil was 7
tons, but the availability in recent years has been more limited, probably
now to around 1 ton per annum.

18. Thymus oil. Of the 350
distinguishable species of Thymus, the threatened species include T.
moroderi, T. baeticus and T. zygis subsp. gracilis (Blanco and Breaux
1997; Lange 1998). Although licensed collection may put the brake on
international trade on certain Thymus traded items, the use of Thymus
species for essential oil distillation within Spain is not monitored, and
so the true situation is not clearly known (Lange 1998).

19. Buchu oils. Agathosma betulina
and A. crenulata leaves are steam-distilled to produce the oil. The
plants have long been used in traditional South American ethnic medicine,
but a major use for the powerful smelling steam-distilled oil is in
flavorings and perfumery to produce a fruity berry (especially blackberry)
note. Its diminishing presence in the wild has been the subject of
several recent articles. For instance Hoegler (2000) mentioned the poor
gathering practices in the face of increased demand that has partially
been responsible for the demise of the species, and mentioned the work of
Agribusiness in Sustainable African plant Products (A-SNAPP) which has
targeted the plant for sustainable development initiatives. African
farmers demanded price rises of 30% for buchu oil, a move known as
"holding the market to ransom" (Parfums Cosmétiques Actualités 2003).

20. Cinnamomum oils. At the time of
writing, the Chinese authorities have seemingly introducing a ban on tree
felling of certain species including Cinnamomum because of concerns
related to climate change. Ho leaf & wood oils from species such as C.
camphora L. var. linaloolifera and C. camphora Sieb var. glavescens Hayata,
are subject to considerable price rises and supply problems. Zhu et al.
(1994) had previously warned of potential problems of exhaustion of
Cinnamomum species reserves in China, as no policy of tree replanting
currently existed. The future sustainability of this commodity is
unforeseeable at present. Another Cinnamomum species, Cinnamomum tamala,
is listed by CIMAP 1997 as suffering from over exploitation and habitat
destruction in India, such that plant populations are considerably reduced
so that it is “nearly threatened”.

Just because some aromatic materials
are no longer offered, it does not necessarily mean that they are
threatened. Unavailable products could be divided into various groups: a)
materials no longer available in former quantity due to lack of demand
(e.g., Backhousia citriodora oil for many years, after the advent of cheap
commercially available synthetic citral, and now enjoying modest comeback
due to interest in natural perfumery); b) materials which have slipped
from fashionable use, but can be
obtained with difficulty (e.g., reseda absolute from Reseda odorata,
woodruff absolute from Galium odorata); c) materials which go short
because of huge demand (e.g., vanilla oleoresin from Vanilla spp.); d)
materials which become temporarily short due to climatic or political
difficulties (e.g., geranium oil Chinese from Pelargonium graveolens in
2002).

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Saul
Alarcon-Adams for his direction and input to this article.

Traffic International (1999)
“Implementation of the CITES appendix II listing of jatamansi Nardostachys
grandiflora and kutki Picrorhiza kurrooa: a report of the findings of
research conducted by the Traffic Network under contract with the CITES
Secretariat.” Convention on international trade in endangered species of
wild fauna and flora. Tenth meeting of the plants committee.
Shepherdstown, U.S. 11-15 December 2000.